EPSOM AND THE CITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 206, 29 August 1916, Page 8

EPSOM AND THE CITY.

' PROPOSED AMALGAMATION, •?> r_3______;rs APPROVE, \ ■ '•'• 7.v-. ~ r SPEECH BY THE MAYOR. ;; '.»'-.;-'; •,. , '-s''r unanimous vote 300 Eps;am J ;'.. ratepayers, assembled in xhe Manukaii Water Supply Board's Hall last.night, carried a resolution proposed by ;Mr.<- Harry Frost, chairman of the Epsom-Road Board, and seconded by Mr. 'Arthur Rosser, "That in the opinion of tliis meeting it would be in the ibest interests of the Epsom district to arnalsamate .with the city,.and that the Road Hoard be requested to act accordingly." The-Mayor of Auckland (Mr. J. H. Gunson)' was present by invitation, and prior to the vote being taken made a concise and comprehensive Teview of the Road Board's proposal that the amalgamation should be effected upon terms ot equal rating. He was supported by Mr. J. Dempsey. a member of the City Council, and former chairman of the Remuera ■Road Board. In some introductory remarks Mr. Frost, as chairman, pointed out; that with the present revenue it was- not possible to establish permanent roads, or to deal - with town water and sewage. There was also an urgent need for tbetter fire-fighting appliances. ;■ -AX AWAK.EXED INTEREST. 'Mr. Gunson received a cordial reception. He said that it was very gratifying to him to see it evinced by the large attendance that there was aii awakenea interest in the public affairs of the Epsom district: too often there was an appalling apathy. As to the proposal, tliey knew that if a contract was to be made it was desirable that all parties to it should be thoroughly acquainted with the conditions. It was his desire to make the position clear, but he did not "desire to unduly influence the ratepayers' opinions. He certainly had newish to coerce. He proposed to ask those present to consider the position from two points of view—what had been the position under city administration and what had been' the position under local body administration. To obtain an adequate conception of such a ___rpblem it was desirable to take both a retrospective and an anticipatory view. ; In order to illustrate the advance of tlie city during the last twenty years and . more particularly during the last five ■j years, since the amalgamation and In- , corporation, of the five local bodies— ' Parnell, Grey Lynn. Arch Hill, Eden • Terrace, and Remuera—the speaker \ quoted the following figures as to the ■ area, annual values, and population of the city twenty years aso, five years ■ ago, and at the present date:— * ; 1896. ' 1011. 1016. . Area. \ 1500 acres 1700 acres 8073 acres • Annual values £315.000 £ri'«.ooo £I_l6 000 .; Population... 3l,_u 40,330 u5,o!;o ="•• , TRIBUTE-TO PAST MAYORS. After a brief mention of the unsatisfactory ward system obtaining twenty ytears ago, Mr. Gunson went on to refer to the growth of the Greater Auckland scheme of one large municipality, stretching from one side of the" isthmus" to the other, and embracing the whole o? lhe suburban populace. He paid a tribute to the work of the Hon E -Nlitchelson, to the valuable service of the; Hon. A. M. Myers in educating tlie public mind towards the change and to tie part played by Mr. C. J. Parr in bringing about the amaisamatron or" the localiodies which had already joined up Mr. Gunson said that at the'time of the Mayoral election he had announced that he would- not be in favour of further amalgamations for twelve months This policy the Council afterwards endorsed bnt that period having elapsed they ..were now agreed that it would be in the public interest to include Epsom upon terms of equal rtfting- as suggested. = ■~y""~r9Q w - -Recruits scored. ; Tn reviewing the progress of the bodies • that had joined the city. the Mayor pointed out that almost immediately upon the amalgamation of Parnell that , area had benefited to the extent of £25 - '; 000 of loan moneys, which had been adj vantageously spent on the streets of » that area. Parks had been acquired and ; drainage had also been attended to under | th&oty scheme. •In Arch- Hill the road- : mg policy of the Council Ea-fb'een prose- - cuted most vigorously, with the result that the district now had excellent roads. He was aware that everybody was not ; g° m S to be satisfied, but felt that if a . vote were taken in Arch Hill, or in the : other areas, there would be a very lar<*e 1 majority in favour of city admlnistra- .• tion. In; Grey Lynn the "Council was J bound -by certain stipulated conditions ; and limited in its expenditure to the j actual £ 4500 or so : of revenue, but the j district benefited by the saving of ad- . ministrative. outlay. In Eden Terrace : there were some of the most difficult ; and acute road problems, which could : not be permanently dealt with under the ; present conditions. ' In .Remuera also no j effort was spared to improve the dis- ; trict. »„ -~. "WHAT DO WE GAIN?" Mr. Gunson wont on to emphasise the claims of citizenship. He believed that all present recognised that they had a certain interest in the commercial or business centre of Auckland. Many of them a great part of their 'lives there, and he presumed that they wanted acleanand-sanitary city. (Hear, hear.) As an instance of the improvements made in the'city proper in the last five years, the speaker mentioned that no -less than £22.-5,000 had been spent in providing permanent street pavement. (Applause.) In answer to the question, "What is Epsom going to gain?" Mr. Gunson replied, "I can tell you quite frankly we are going to gain nothing." (Laughter.) Proceeding, he said that about a. quarter of the present Epsom revenue (£3500) was absorbed in necessary administration cha_?es, so that-it was evident that there wasjlittle left to improve the district.- He considered that the Board had with the amount-at their disposal. If ■ Epsom joined city she would: not ?be "hampered ,by;.- such, heavy administration charges. Moreover, while he did--rfotJwish to hold out any alluring ~prorois.es\;T / brit .merely to deal with the ;situatio.n;a_-it was; he would promise to (incorporate Epsom in the street schedule -recently announced. (Applause.) in "the first allocation Epsom would receive her share proportionate with the rest of-the city. r CONCRETE M-AmJKAU ROAD. - - In referring to the ninety-five chains of -the Manukau Road (from Newmarket to the.-Campbell Statue) under the Board, ""Mr. Gunson stated that to p.ave that nection in Neucbatel asphalt would cost £26,000, but to make a concrete road—a local product—the section could be paved for £16.900. He believed that a concrete road would be .well suited to ,

the requirements. (Applause.) Good lighting was part of the Council's policy. Soon after amalgamation with Remuera a total of 80 additional street lamps had been provided. The question of the disposal of storm water was a difficult one, but they were prepared to take steps to deal with it permanently. He Tecoguiscd the difficulties of the Epsom drainage problem, and believed that the consulting engineer to the Drainage Board (Mr. W. E. Bush) would find a solution. Mr. Gunson pointed out that under amalgamation the status of the Manukau Water Supply Board would not be affected, and unless there was some legislative change the city would have to take water from the Manukau Road for tbe ratepayers at the present rate of 1/0 per 1000 ft. An investigation of the rating showed that the city aud Epsom were upon about equal terms. After uext year, if Epsom joined the city, the rating would be upon the annual values. He was not prepared to give any undertaking that in the course of the next few years the values would not bo increased. The probability was that whether they joined the city or not values would rise. If values did not rise the ratepayers would begin to think there was something wrong with their district. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. Dempsey dealt at some length with the position of Remuera, and assured the meeting that the district had benefited as a part of Greater Auckland. Mr. Dempsey mentioned that he. had formerly been opposed to amalgamation. He pointed out that Remuera was not without representation on the City Council, no less than three members being from the suburb. VOICE IN THE NEGATIVE. Mr. G. 11. Eslick made a definite pronoun cement against the scheme. He said it was not a matter of sentimeat, it was a business proposition. The Mayor was a business man and repr>,.ented commercial interest. Xhe ratepayers should know that if they were to get great improvements they must pay heavily for them. These were not normal times, and he thought as they were not to go in on a preferential basis like Grc-y -Lynn they would be wise to stay outside.

A ratepayer: "Rip Van Winkle." (Laughter.) Mr. H. B. Morton. Mr. Arthur Rosser, and the Rev. G. Bond spoke iv favour of the motion. After the vote had been taken. Mr. Edgerly took the opportunity to announce that he would call a public meeting at an early date to oppose the proposed amalgamation. A vote of thanks to Messrs. Gunson and Dempsey. moved by Mr. Frost, was cSrried unanimously.